Hand training device

ABSTRACT

A hand training device and corresponding method are used for sensing and measuring a capacitance corresponding to the pressure or force applied by the hand or fingers of the user. This hand training apparatus has slots for the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the pinky finger. The data obtained from the device can be utilized to create a 3-D model to indicate grip strength exerted by the hand or pinch strength.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 63/249,263, filed on Sep. 28, 2021, entitled “HandTraining Device,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates generally to capacitive sensing technologyin a hand training device, and more particularly to a system, method andcomputer program utilizing capacitive sensing for determining the forceapplied to the hand training device.

BACKGROUND

Injuries to the hand and wrist, and recovery from an operation on apatient's wrist, finger, and hand (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome) oftenrequires implementation of continuous exercise and rehabilitation toincrease mobility, reduce corresponding complications, and to reclaimfull strength and improved range of motion to the injured region.

Numerous devices are currently offered to support hand/wrist exercises,conditioning, and rehabilitation on the part of the patient and his orher treating therapist. These devices include ring grip exercisers,finger exercisers, hand exercise balls, therapy putty, and handextension exercisers. Despite the variety of rehabilitation and exercisedevices currently available, these devices are not capable of providingresults or biofeedback to the therapist and the patient. There is also aneed for a device that will keep the patient accountable for completingthe exercises as prescribed by his or her physician or therapist.

Other conventional muscular training apparatuses or rehabilitationdevices employ magnets or strain gauges to sense and detect the forceexerted by a hand on the device. However, sensors that employ magneticsensing and/or strain gauges are less cost-effective. Additionally,calculating the 3-dimensional shape of an object (i.e., hand) and itsmovement that exerts a force on a deformable hand training deviceinvolves calculations with increased complexity, resulting in higherpower consumption that often results in the dead batteries of abattery-operated instrument.

Additionally, there remains a need for a rehabilitation device that ismuch more convenient and will reduce the number of visits with a doctor.Current rehabilitation devices typically require a patient to visit atherapist anywhere between 5-7 times. Some devices, such as therapyputty, have the potential to lead the patient to performing the wrongexercise.

Accordingly, there is a need for a cost-effective hand rehabilitationapparatus that is capable of keeping the patient accountable forcompleting prescribed exercises, indicates to the patient whether theexercise is being performed correctly, and consumes much less power whenperforming these functions.

SUMMARY

In the case of hand rehabilitations devices, the embodiments of thedisclosure solve these problems and overcomes the deficiencies of theprior art.

The present invention addresses many unmet needs. The present inventionis a training device, a type of biofeedback, that measures real-timegrip strength, which can be tracked over time. With this feature, usershave measurable strength gains. Furthermore, the present inventioncaptures individual finger and thumb key pinch measurements.

Furthermore, the device is capable of providing an individual digitreadout, which a healthcare provider can observe and adjust for propertraining and recovery of the patient or user. This differs from otherdevices that use a dynamometer, which measures the whole hand results ongrip strength, instead of individual fingers as done by the presentedinvention.

The present invention is a significant advancement over currentlyavailable methods to assess patient progress and compliance withrehabilitation goals. The use of the present invention allows remotepatient monitoring by any professional provider and adjustment ofrehabilitation based on real time data. The present invention representsa substantial leap forward compared to current hand grip dynamometer andkey pinch dynamometer.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a hand trainingapparatus comprising: a body comprising a housing and at least onefinger resistance device; at least one capacitive sensor disposed on asurface of the at least one finger resistance device; at least oneprocessor disposed in the housing; and at least one memory includingcomputer program code for one or more programs disposed in the housing,the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to,with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: apply aelectronic charge to the at least one capacitive sensor; measure acapacitance of the at least one capacitive sensor in real-time, whereinthe capacitance is affected by a foreign object; create a 3-dimensionalmodel of the foreign object based on the measured capacitance of the atleast one capacitive sensor; generate a deformation model of the atleast one finger resistance device based on the 3-dimensional model ofthe foreign object to obtain a result, wherein the result indicates oneof: a grip strength exerted by the hand in at least one axis; or a pinchstrength exerted by the hand in at least one axis; and provide theresult as an output.

In one embodiment, the at least one processor is further configured togenerate the 3-dimensional shape of the hand based on the number ofcapacitive sensors and the distance between the capacitive sensors.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying one or moresequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one ormore processors, cause an apparatus for generating a deformation modelof at least one finger resistance device to perform: retrievingcapacitive sensor data, wherein the capacitive sensor data indicates theposition of a foreign object or change in position of the foreignobject, processing the capacitive sensor data to create a 3-dimensionalmodel of the foreign object, and generating a deformation model of theat least one finger resistance device based on the 3-dimensional modelof the foreign object to obtain a result, wherein the result indicatesone of: a grip strength exerted by the hand in at least one axis; or apinch strength exerted by the hand in at least one axis.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable storage mediumcarries one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, whenexecuted by one or more processors, cause, at least in part, anapparatus to detect, in real-time by the at least one capacitive sensor,a position of a hand and a change in the position of a hand in at leastone axis; generate a 3-dimensional shape of the hand based on thedetected position and detected change of position of the hand; andmeasure a deformation of the at least one finger resistance device toobtain a result, wherein the result indicates one of: a grip strengthexerted by the hand in at least one axis; or a pinch strength exerted bythe hand in at least one axis.

In addition, for various example embodiments of the invention, thefollowing is applicable: a method comprising facilitating a processingof and/or processing (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at leastone signal, the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least onesignal based, at least in part, on (or derived at least in part from)any one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in thisapplication as relevant to any embodiment of the invention.

For various example embodiments, the following is applicable: a methodcomprising the means for determining the force applied comprising thesteps performed by the processor of the apparatus of any of the claims.

These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages ofthe present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and thedrawings. All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated intheir entirety by reference.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention arereadily apparent from the following detailed description, simply byillustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations,including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. Theinvention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and itsseveral details can be modified in various obvious respects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, thedrawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature,and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, andnot by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the hand training apparatusconfigured to measure the grip strength and pinch strength exerted by ahand, in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the hand training apparatus, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the hand training apparatus, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the hand training apparatus, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the hand training apparatus, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of the hand training apparatus, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed,various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Reference in thisspecification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, the terms “a” and “an”herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote thepresence of at least one of the referenced items. Moreover, variousfeatures are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments andnot by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which maybe requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments. Asused herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similarterms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of beingdisplayed, transmitted, received and/or stored in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. Thus, use of any such terms shouldnot be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the presentinvention.

The embodiments are described herein for illustrative purposes and aresubject to many variations. It is understood that various omissions andsubstitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances maysuggest or render expedient but are intended to cover the application orimplementation without departing from the spirit or the scope of thepresent disclosure. Further, it is to be understood that the phraseologyand terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the descriptionand should not be regarded as limiting. Any heading utilized within thisdescription is for convenience only and has no legal or limiting effect.Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of theinvention.

The current invention disclosure is a hand training apparatuscomprising: a body comprising a housing and at least one fingerresistance device connected to the housing; at least one capacitivesensor disposed on a surface of the at least one finger resistancedevice; at least one processor disposed in the housing; and at least onememory including computer program code for one or more programs disposedin the housing, the at least one memory and the computer program codeconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:detect, in real-time by the at least one capacitive sensor, a positionof a hand and a change in the position of a hand in at least one axis;generate a 3-dimensional shape of the hand based on the detectedposition and detected change of position of the hand; and measure adeformation of the at least one finger resistance device to obtain aresult, wherein the result indicates one of: a grip strength exerted bythe hand in at least one axis; or a pinch strength exerted by the handin at least one axis.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of various components of the handtraining apparatus for analyzing data relative to the capacitiveproximity sensor units, according to one embodiment. FIG. 1 shows case-B2, button (pinch) 8, plunger-side-L 5, plunger-mid-L 4, plunger-mid-R 6,plunger-mid-L 7, and boot 3. The user presses button (pinch) 8 with thethumb finger and rest the index finger on plunger-side-L 5, rest themiddle finger on plunger-mid-L 4, rest the ring finger on plunger-mid-R6, and rest the pinky finger on plunger-mid-L 7. Boot 3 serves as acover case to the device covering the bottom portion of the device.

In one embodiment, the hand training device may include a sensor system(e.g., an array of capacitive proximity sensors disposed on the surfaceof multiple finger resistance device connected to the housing, etc.),the interface device, and a remote device. For purposes of illustration,rather than limitation, the hand training apparatus may be described asmeasuring the grip and pinch strength of a user's hand when the usergrips the hand training apparatus and applies a force to each individualfinger resistance device. In a preferred embodiment, the hand trainingapparatus number is comprised of four (4) finger resistance devices, afinger resistance device for the index, middle, ring, and pinky. It maybe appreciated that the hand training apparatus may be used for othermeasurements.

FIG. 2 illustrates boot 3 installed on the device. The user can grab thedevice and rest his or her fingers on the appropriate slots. The deviceis designed to receive a resting or force from index finger onplunger-side-L 5, resting or force from the middle finger onplunger-mid-L 4, resting or force from the ring finger on plunger-mid-R6, and resting or force from the pinky finger on plunger-mid-L 7.

In another embodiment, the sensor system may include at least onecapacitive proximity sensor unit and a biofeedback device. Thecapacitive proximity sensor unit may include an array of conductivematerials separated by one of more dielectric materials. The individualconductive materials are connected to a microcontroller, capable ofbeing rapidly charged and sense the change in capacitance between anysubset of such conductive materials. The capacitance is affected bycharge-carrying materials, such as a human hand, which allows theability to sense the proximity of a conductive material such as a hand.By rapidly alternating the charge and capacitive measurement cycle amongthe subsets of conductive materials connected to the microcontroller,the change in the proximity of other charge-carrying materials can becalculated.

FIG. 3 shows case-A 2 disconnected from case-A 1. FIG. 3 illustrates theinternals in a preferred embodiment of the device. Connection port 309serves for charging the device, as well as for transferring data. Thedevice has PCBA-main 14 (printed circuit board), compression spring 305,compression spring 304, compression spring 306, and compression spring307. The device measures the force exerted by the user on plunger-mid-L4, plunger-mid-R 6, plunger-side-L 5, and plunger-side-R 7. Supportplate 311 holds button (pinch) 8; button (pinch) 8 is used to detect keypinch measurements. Support plate 311 also holds strain gauge 350 Ohm20. Guide plunger 9 holds compression springs 305, 304, 306, and 307.Guide plunger 9 also serves as a guide for plunger-mid-L 4,plunger-mid-R 6, plunger-side-L 5, and plunger-side-R 7.

The interface device may include a capacitance measurement module, acalculation module, a voltage control module, the microcontroller,memory, or a biofeedback module. The microcontroller may include thevoltage control module. The memory may be, but not limited to, a singlememory, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, optical storage, or any other non-volatile ornon-transitory storage medium capable of storing digital data. Thecapacitance measurement module, calculation module, and voltage controlmodule could reside in RAM memory, flash memory, registers, or any otherform of writable computer-readable storage medium known in the artincluding non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The remotedevice may include a display and user input, and may include theprocessors and computing devices of, for example, a smart phone orpersonal computer, as known in the art. In other embodiments, themicrocontroller may include both analog and digital circuitry to performthe functionality of the capacitance measurement module, the calculationmodule, the voltage control module, and the biofeedback module. In someembodiments, the interface device may comprise a processing device, suchas a microprocessor or central processing unit, a controller,special-purpose processor, digital signal processor, or one or moreother processing devices known by those of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 4 illustrates a partial exploded view of the device showing case-A1, connection port 309, PCBA-main 14 (printed circuit board),plunger-mid-L 4, plunger-mid-R 6, plunger-side-L 5, and plunger-side-R7. Guide plunger 9 holding compression springs 305, 304, 306, and 307,which come into contact with corresponding plunger-mid-L 4,plunger-mid-R 6, plunger-side-L 5, and plunger-side-R 7. Support plate311 is showed exploded from the device; button (pinch) 8 connects tosupport plate 311 and plate 311 is attached using screws 18 into guideplunger 9.

FIG. 5 illustrates a partially exploded view of the device.Plunger-side-L 5 attaches to compression springs 305, which serves asresistance when the user applies force or pressure using the indexfinger. Compression spring 305 is guided through guide plunger 9.Plunger-mid-L 4 attaches to compression spring 304 and is guided throughguide plunger 9. Plunger-mid-R 6 attaches to compression spring 306 andis guided through guide plunger 9. Plunger-side-R 7 attaches tocompression spring 307 and is guided through guide plunger 9. Battery 13is attached at the bottom side of guide plunger 9 and is received bycase-A1 at receiving slot 501.

FIG. 6 . Illustrated an exploded view of the device. A set of fourplungers is illustrated corresponding to plunger-mid-L 4 for the middlefinger of the user, plunger-side-L 5 for the index finger of the user,plunger-mid-R 6 for the ring finger, and plunger-side-R 7 for the pinkyfinger. Contact bridges 10, which contains 4 bridges, one contact bridgefor plunger-mid-L 4, one contact bridge for plunger-side-L 5, onecontact bridge for plunger-mid-R 6, and one contact bridge forplunger-side-R 7. Support plate 311 holds button (pinch) 8 and straingauge 350 Ohm 20. Support plate 311 is held by screws 18 into guideplunger 9. Case-B 2 attaches to the device by screws 17. Guide plunger 9holds compression spring 304, compression spring 305, compression spring306 and compression spring 307. PCBA-main 14 (printed circuit board) isillustrated to the right of guide plunger 9. PCBA-plungers 15 (printedcircuit board) is held in place by screw 18. Light pipe 11 isillustrated to the right of PCBA-plungers 15. Screws 19 attach to guideplunger 9. Case-A 1 uses screws 21 to close the device. Boot 3 coversthe bottom portion of the assembled device.

The processor may include one or more processing cores with each coreconfigured to perform independently. A multi-core processor enablesmultiprocessing within a single physical package. Examples of amulti-core processor include two, four, eight, or greater numbers ofprocessing cores. The processor and accompanying components haveconnectivity to the memory. The memory includes both dynamic memory(e.g., RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) and staticmemory (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executable instructionsthat when executed perform the inventive steps described herein toprovide mobility insight data related to shared vehicles for a POI. Thememory also stores the data associated with or generated by theexecution of the inventive steps.

In use, for example, a user grips the hand training apparatus, and eachfinger applies a force to each individual finger resistance device. Eachfinger resistance device has at least one capacitive proximity sensorconnected to the microcontroller. By aligning the capacitive proximitysensors in 3-D space, the hand training apparatus is capable ofdetermining the position of a hand, the change in position of the hand,or the change in distance between the capacitive proximity sensors. Suchconstruction, for example, enables determining the amount anddistribution of deformation of the hand training apparatus when theuser's hand applies pressure or force to the individual finger resistantdevices.

Measuring the deformation of the hand training apparatus enables theapparatus to measure the grip and pinch strength applied by the user'shand. To record the grip and pinch strength, distinct subsets of anarray of conductive materials of the capacitive proximity sensor aresuccessively selected and rapidly charged by the voltage control module.The capacitance measurement module measures the capacitance of acapacitive element, such as a copper pad. In an embodiment, thecapacitance measurement module and the voltage control module can bedisposed in the housing of the hand training apparatus and coupled tothe capacitive proximity sensor unit via wires. In another embodiment,the capacitance measurement module can measure the capacitance(s) ordifferential capacitance in terms of voltage or current. In anotherembodiment, the capacitance measurement module then transmits voltagedata or current data to the calculation module.

In an embodiment, the calculation circuit analyzes the values of thevoltage data or current data provided by the capacitance measurementmodule to calculate, for example, directional information of a foreignobject, such as the position of a hand and the relative distance of thecapacitive elements of the capacitive proximity sensor units. Theplacement of these capacitive elements determines the set of3-dimensional directions. The calculation module is capable ofperforming measurements. The number of directions and therefore theresolution of the 3-dimensional position of the foreign object, i.e., ahuman hand, is determined by the number of capacitive sensors and theirdistance. The 3-dimensional resolution can then be aligned to measurethe deformation of an arbitrarily shaped object, such as the handtraining device. The grip and pinch strength are then measuredindirectly based on the measured deformation of the hand trainingapparatus. The calculation module may then transmit the measured gripand pinch strength and directional data to the memory (which thenbecomes logged data) and the control and analysis software installed ona user device. The user device may include a display and/or a userinput, such as input keys.

In some embodiments, parameters such as maximum limits (and minimumlimits) may be input through, for example, the user device andtransferred from the user device to the biofeedback module via, forexample, wireless technology (e.g., over a wireless local area network(WLAN) such as a Bluetooth network or Wi-Fi network) or transferred viamini-USB ports or the like, as known to one of ordinary skill in theart. In another embodiment, a physician, doctor, surgeon, or therapistmay input the max/min parameters onto a cloud-based service provider,which are automatically downloaded by the user device and thentransmitted to the biofeedback module. As such, if the user does meetthe desired parameters or undesired, as the case may be, the biofeedbackmodule may transmit the logged data to the control and analysis softwareand then uploaded to the cloud-based service provider, for the purposesof review by the physician, doctor, surgeon, or therapist.

In certain embodiments, the biofeedback device may produce anotification to the user that a predefined input parameter has beenreached, such as the maximum or minimum deformation or maximum orminimum force the user's hand may apply to the hand training apparatus,so that the user understands in real-time the limits relative to themovement of the user's hand, for example. The notification may be atleast one of a visual notification, an audible notification, a tactilenotification, or some other notification to facilitate the user'sunderstanding of the user's maximum or minimum limits prescribed by adoctor, for example. Alternatively, the notification can be anycombination of visual, audible, and tactile notifications. The visualnotification may be in the form of a blinking (or various colored)light, or a light displayed on the sensor system itself or the handtraining apparatus and/or also may be visualized on a display of theuser device. The audible notification may be a ring or beep or the likethat may preferably be audibly transmitted from the hand trainingapparatus but may also be transmitted from the sensor system. Thetactile notification may be coupled to or integrated with the sensorsystem or disposed in the shell of the hand training apparatus. Suchtactile notification may be in the form of a vibration or some othertactile notification. In this manner, the biofeedback device may notifythe user in real time to ensure proper form is applied and that the handtraining apparatus is used properly by the patient in accordance withprescribed orders by a doctor, physician, or therapist. Similarly, inanother embodiment, a user may input parameters of a minimum/maximumforce into the user device for biofeedback notification. Further, inanother embodiment, the user may input parameters for both a minimumdeformation and a maximum angular deformation. Alerting the user orpatient in real-time as to whether the patient is performing the handrehabilitation with the device correctly and in accordance with thedoctor's prescription may prevent re-injury to the patient's hand and,thus, reduce the number of visits with a doctor

In another embodiment, upon completing a session of rehabilitationtherapy or training or the like, for example, logged data may be storedin the memory or storage device of the housing of the hand trainingapparatus. The memory stores various data including force applied data,hand position data, grip strength data, and pinch strength data. Thelogged data may then be transferred to a remote device. The remotedevice may be any known computing device, such as a mobile device, smartphone, tablet, personal computer, gaming system, etc. In one embodiment,the logged data may be transferred to a smart phone via, for example,wireless technology (e.g., over a wireless local area network (WLAN)such as a Bluetooth network or Wi-Fi network) or transferred viamini-USB ports or the like, as known to one of ordinary skill in theart. In another embodiment, the logged data may be transferred to apersonal computer via a port, such as a USB port with, for example, aportable memory device, such as a thumb drive. The user may then savethe logged data on the remote device for further analysis. In anotherembodiment, the logged data may be transmitted to a cloud-based serviceprovider, for the purposes of storing the logged data in the cloud inbatches or in real-time and to be retrieved by a physician, doctor,surgeon, therapist, or insurer at a later time for review and analysisof the patient's rehabilitation progress. The user may also save severalsessions of logged data to the remote device to obtain further analysisand comparison data to better understand, for example, progress orregress in the rehabilitation of the user's hand. Allowing the user orpatient and doctors access to the log may be useful for increasingadherence to prescribed exercises and accountability tracking to ensurethe patient is successfully rehabilitated.

The hand training device and the electronics disposed inside the housingmay be powered by numerous power sources that include one or more ofbatteries, rechargeable batteries, wired power, and capacitive storage,among others.

The term non-transitory computer-readable medium is used herein to referto any medium that participates in providing information to theprocessor, including instructions for execution. Such a medium may takemany forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatilemedia, and transmission media. Non-volatile or non-transitory mediainclude, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device.Volatile media include, for example, dynamic memory. Transmission mediainclude, for example, coaxial cables, copper wire, fiber optic cables,and carrier waves that travel through space without wires or cables,such as acoustic waves and electromagnetic waves, including radio,optical and infrared waves. Signals include man-made transientvariations in amplitude, frequency, phase, polarization, or otherphysical properties transmitted through the transmission media. Commonforms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, aflexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, aCD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape,optical mark sheets, any other physical medium with patterns of holes orother optically recognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, aFLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer can read.

In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumcarrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions (e.g.,computer code) which, when executed by one or more processors (e.g., theprocessor as described in FIG. 4 ), cause the hand training apparatus toperform any steps of the various embodiments of the methods describedherein.

The invention has been described herein using specific embodiments forthe purposes of illustration only. It will be readily apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art, however, that the principles of the inventioncan be embodied in other ways. Therefore, the invention should not beregarded as being limited in scope to the specific embodiments disclosedherein, but instead as being fully commensurate in scope with thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hand training device comprising: a body, ahousing, at least one finger resistance device, at least one capacitivesensor, at least one processor, and at least one memory configured to:store at least one computer program code configured to: with the atleast one processor to cause the hand training device to apply an atleast one electronic charge to the at least one capacitive sensor, andmeasure a capacitance of the at least one capacitance sensor.
 2. The atleast one computer program from claim 1, wherein at least a firstprogram is configured to: create a 3-dimensional model of a foreignobject based on the measured capacitance of the at least one capacitivesensor, when the at least one capacitance is affected by the foreignobject and generate a deformation model of the at least one fingerresistance device based on the 3-dimensional model of the foreignobject.
 3. The at least a first program from claim 2, wherein itprovides a one or more result indicating a grip strength exerted by theforeign object in the at least a one axis and provides the one or moreresult as an output.
 4. The at least a first program from claim 2,wherein the at least a first program provides a one or more resultindicating a pinch strength exerted by the foreign object in the atleast a one axis and provides the one or more result as an output. 5.The at least first program from claim 2, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured generate a 3-dimensional model of a foreignobject based on the measured capacitance of a two or more capacitivesensor and the distance between the two or more capacitance sensors,when the at least two or more capacitance sensors are affected by theforeign object.
 6. A method for acquiring haptic data and displayingresults comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, aone or more sequences of a one or more instruction, a one or moreprocessor, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carryingthe one or more sequence of the one or more instruction which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, causes an outcome.
 7. The methodfrom claim 6, wherein the outcome consists of causing an apparatus forgenerating a deformation model of at least one finger resistance deviceto perform: retrieving a one or more capacitive sensor data, wherein theone or more capacitive sensor data indicates the position of a foreignobject or a change in position of the foreign object, processing the oneor more capacitive sensor data to create a 3-dimensional model of theforeign object, and generating a deformation model of the at least onefinger resistance device based on the 3-dimensional model of the foreignobject to obtain a result,
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the resultindicates a grip strength exerted by the hand in a at least one axis. 9.The method of claim 7, wherein the result indicates a pinch strengthexerted by the hand in the at least one axis.
 10. The method of claim 6,wherein the outcome consists of causing an apparatus to detect, inreal-time by the at least one capacitive sensor, a position of a handand a change in the position of the hand in at least one axis; generatea 3-dimensional shape of the hand based on the detected position, anddetected change of position of the hand; and measure a deformation ofthe at least one finger resistance device to obtain a result.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the result indicates a grip strength exertedby the hand in at least one axis.
 12. The method of claim 10, whereinthe result indicates a pinch strength exerted by the hand in at leastone axis.